Satnav costs too much: report
Carmakers need to compete with standalone devices
Satnav costs too much
According to telematics specialist SBD, navigation systems have moved from being expensive niche products to mass-market items stocked on supermarket shelves. As a result, sales have soared and SBD predicted that six million systems will be sold this year.
Change of approach required
A new report from SBD points out that car manufacturers need to change their approach if they are to increase the number of vehicles sold with embedded, factory-fitted satellite navigation units. The report said that consumers understand and are familiar with electronic devices and that car makers are falling behind. In effect, they need to lower their prices to compete with standalone equipment, and make sure that dealers understand the in-car systems and know how to sell them.
SBD’s research shows that at present only around 10 per cent of new cars in Europe include satnav. Few buy it because it's expensive and it isn't available on most cars. At the present rate, SBD estimated that fitment rates might hit 12 per cent next year.
It contrasted this with the performance of portable systems, which have doubled sales levels in 2004-2005. It found that rapid growth has been fuelled by the success of new personal navigation devices (PNDs), which it said "are smartly designed, simple to use and competitively priced".
Add satnav, sell more
SBD's David McClure said: "Manufacturers have an opportunity to turn increased customer awareness into increased sales of embedded systems, but it requires a fresh approach, both in the way they position the equipment within their model ranges and the way it is sold to the customer on the showroom floor."
SBD's report recommended that simple turn-by-turn navigation systems be integrated as standard in most cars, and that that car makers improve training for car dealers on the advantages and benefits of embedded navigation equipment.
"If car makers are willing to adopt more cohesive marketing and technical strategies, we think there is an opportunity for fitment rates on new cars to rise as high as 30 per cent by 2008-2009", said McClure.
Cutting prices and explaining products to customers hardly sounds radical -- but sometimes big companies need the obvious spelt out. However, SBD didn't say who commissioned the report...
However of more use would be a bluetooth phone prep & iPod integration into the stereo (even if its just a line in jack plug)
Car manufacturers need to sort out the tech on their cars - the public are far more techno savvy than the manufacturers think...
Dealer training is an issue, as most sales people are not worried about learning the product, as they will probably won't be working there in a few months anyway (either fired / promoted / moved to a different franchise).
My 2p worth.
Chris
Although I have satnav in my Z4 and find it useful, i'd not spec it on another car unless it cost about the same as a tom tom type gadget. There are arguments for and against though.
In-car systems usually have bigger screens and are better integrated for sound (speed sensitive etc) which is good in a convertible. Mine even folds away when I don't need it and I don't (generally) have to worry about people removing it without my permission...
I tend to keep my cars for 4 to 6 years and not many pocket pc's (or similar) last that long in my experience.
Can't 'take-out' the in-car screen for a walkabout.
Tomtom etc usually include many more 'features' for the techno-savvy among us to take advantage of if we want to...
My pocket pc also serves as my contacts archive and has other GPS software for in-flight navigation and use on my motorbike too.
I'm sure there are more I could think of but overall, the price is the big turn-off in my opinion.
So the fitted screen jobbies look nice in your dashboard, but it has to be said that many of these manufacturer fit ones just arent as usable as the portable ones. In fact some are so cryptic that many users simply dont use them any more. But lets not forget that many of these units are simply re-branded versions of major brands. Vauxhall used to use the Philips Carin system and Audi used a mixture of Siemens / Blaupunkt. Most hide the origins quite well in reality. So bulk purchase for OEM fit of a Blaupunkt satnav system - does it really cost £1800 say? I doubt it. Closer to the £300 mark if you ask me....
So its about profiteering I am afraid (IMHO). A friend of mine recently bought a brand new A3 Sportback. Loving his gadgets he thought about satnav. But to actually get satnav he needed to upgrade this and that. The resulting figure was £2500! Ok so the stereo was nice as a result, but hardly worth the £2500 price tag. So he went with the standard (No cost option) stereo and spend some money post delivery. He got the TomTom Go and fitted it professionally into the dash (in the cubby space below the dash), fitted an external receiver and a stonking brand new to the UK DAB stero with replacement speakers. All up an investment of £1000 for everything and he has a fantastic setup as a result. For less than half the price he has a better system and lower running costs (updates to the TomTom Go are free at the moment).
Cant see that standard fit satnav is worth it at the moment. The sooner the manufacturers wake up the better!
It is driving me nuts, I just can’t get hold of one anywhere, I have never had so much trouble spending £350(ish) before!
Matt
Plus Tomtom Go is awesome, and you can give it Joh Cleese's voice!!!
As for the iPod integration and such like, i can sort of understand why they're not on new cars.
As an automotive design engineer, the stuff we work on now is c.2yrs away from production. The current iPod and Bluetooth fad has only been around for a year or so, so it will most likely be on cars soon, just not right now...
last month I brought a 6 month Vectra SRi NAV that has sat nav built in (Normally £1400 option). Much better than the PC in that it is built in, so don't have anything obstructing my view on the windscreen, and don't have the charger wire trailing across the car.
I have to say that TomTom is far superior, plus I can take it out the car whenever I want. Being a Pocket PC also means I get lots of use from it. However I've stopped using the Tomtom in the car now as although tomtom is better I don't have the obstructions in the way, and don't have to remember to take it out the car everytime i get out. one thing I do miss is that with Tomtom I can put in all the Scamera POI's, which I can't with the VX unit.
I selected, with the help of the 'very helpful' dealer around £11500 of options on my Porsche. The annoying thing is that the sat nav is no better than the aftermarket items and the phone system (at £650!!) does the same job that a £40 bluetooth would do. But try selling a car of this type without it.
A previous M3 I sold and the first questions were 'has it got satnav/tv etc etc..' In the real world who really needs a tv in an M3 convertible?? It cost me with the sat nav over £2000 and I used it 3 times. Arguably the value of the car would be £1000 lower without it, and a lot less desireable.
In summary the manufacturers see the chance to rip of new car buyers with little choice.
parrot of doom said:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TomTom-GO-300-SATELLITE-GPS-NAVIGATION-SAT-NAV_W0QQitemZ5796888991QQcategoryZ4668QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
This guy say's the system is worth £499, if you go to the tomtom site, you will see you can get one for £369.99.
He wants £304.99 + £29.95 postage AND THEN he wants to charge 17.5% vat on top !!
He even say's :
Total price including VAT and delivery for one unit within the UK is £393.55.
Naff feedback as well.
Buyer beware
My office has a Mio navigation unit, with whole of Europe on it, £400 all in.
The stupid thing is, the Mio is a much better system, with better clarity of maps and directions, more information, even nicer voice (now known as Fiona).
I'd never pay for a factory option at current prices when the stand alone systems are better for less.
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